WENJ (97.3
FM) is a
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
that airs a
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
format, licensed to
Millville. Its transmitter is located in
Corbin City, New Jersey
Corbin City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 471, a decrease of 21 (−4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 492, which in turn reflected an increase of 24 ...
, where it shares a tower with
WRTQ. The station is affiliated with
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
. Its studios are in
Northfield, New Jersey
Northfield is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 8,624,[WMVB
WMVB (1440 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Millville, New Jersey, United States, the station is currently owned by Martin Muniz and features Hispanic programming.
The station is a mostly local operation; the o ...]
(1440), airing an
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
format; through the 1970s, the station began to evolve to an
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
format.
In 1988 the station changed their call letters to WBSS a.k.a. ''"The New Boss 97 FM Stopless Music...For Shore!"'' and become South Jersey's 1st ever
CHR station.
In 1995, WBSS was sold to the owners of
WKXW
WKXW (101.5 FM, "New Jersey 101.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Trenton, New Jersey. It is owned by Townsquare Media. Its studios and offices are located in Ewing and its broadcast tower, which is shared with WPRB, is lo ...
(101.5),
which switched the station to a simulcast of WKXW's
news/talk
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
and
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
format, with a small amount of local news.
On March 15, 2002, WBSS dropped the simulcast of WKXW in favor of a
modern adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...
format,
with a call change to WIXM (referring to the station's branding of "Mix 97.3") following a few weeks later.
In November 2004, in the wake of sister station
WSJO
WSJO (104.9 FM, "SoJO 104.9") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. The station is owned by Townsquare Media, through licensee Townsquare License, LLC, and broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) format.
WSJO broad ...
debuting a
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
format, WIXM reverted to the WKXW simulcast;
two years later, the station was renamed to WXKW.
In May 2009, WKXW began to remove references to having a simulcast partner for
South Jersey
South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrative ...
from its promotions, indicating a planned format change for WXKW;
on June 1, the station switched to ESPN Radio as WENJ-FM.
The sports format had previously been heard in the market on
WENJ
WENJ (97.3 FM) is a radio station that airs a sports radio format, licensed to Millville. Its transmitter is located in Corbin City, New Jersey, where it shares a tower with WRTQ. The station is affiliated with ESPN Radio. Its studios are in ...
, which switched to
ESPN Deportes Radio
ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Ameri ...
after a brief period of simulcasting. The station simulcast again on that station from January 2, 2011 to October 15, 2012.
On October 31, 2012, the station dropped the -FM suffix.
On May 23, 2019,
Townsquare Media
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
launched Rock 104.1 on WENJ-HD4 and on simulcast translator W281BH in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
broadcasting a
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
format.
Programming
The station’s flagship show, ''The Sports Bash'', airs on weekday afternoons from 2pm-6pm
ET, hosted by Mike Gill. Other local programming includes a locally-produced weeknight version of ''
GameNight
''GameNight'' is a weekend evening sports talk radio show on ESPN Radio hosted by a variety of ESPN hosts and contributors, most notably hosted by John Seibel, until he left ESPN in 2009. ''GameNight'' is regarded as being the flagship series of ES ...
'' and the Saturday shows ''Rack and Finn Radio'' and ''The Locker Room''. The station also carries Sunday morning programming from
CBS Sports Radio
CBS Sports Radio is a sports radio network that debuted with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013.
CBS Sports Radio is owned by Paramount Global and distributed by Westwood One. Programmin ...
(hosted by Carl Dukes).
Play-by-play sports
As of 2022, the station carries
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
,
Flyers and
76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...
games and ESPN Radio's college football,
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(including
Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizen ...
games),
NFL (in select weeks) and
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
coverage.
The station also carries game coverage from other networks, including
Compass Media,
Sports USA
Sports USA Media is the largest independent sports broadcasting radio network in the United States, specializing in live broadcasts of American football, specifically of the NCAA football Division I-A and National Football League. In 2018, more th ...
,
Touchdown Radio and
Westwood One
Westwood One is an American radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...
, mainly college football and NFL coverage, on a week-by-week rotational basis for select games (e.g. Sunday afternoon NFL games other than Eagles games).
Translators
The following three translators simulcast the programming of WENJ, WENJ-HD2, or HD4
References
External links
WENJ official website*
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{{Townsquare Media
ENJ
Sports radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1962
Townsquare Media radio stations